日本語
There is no better way to get the deepest insight than to visit a Japanese home and see how consumers really live and how they interact with brands and products first hand. While in-facility interviews certainly have their place, the Japanese language is full of non-verbal cues and a lot is left unsaid meaning some of the deepest insight can be left behind. And on some occasions respondents may just forget the experience they have with products and any pain points they have unless they are in the environment they use them.
Here is a good case in point. Our client, a global vacuum brand, wanted to understand the pain points Japanese vacuum users had with their current vacuum – amongst other objectives. The first stage of the study involved a round of group discussions where we tested a number of brand comms and received feedback on several vacuums the client was considering releasing on the Japanese market. During the in-facility discussions we also asked respondents to think about some pain points with their current vacuum and received a variety of responses – none of which included any issues with storage.
The next stage we visited a variety of Japanese homes to see first-hand how they used the vacuum, how they cleaned the vacuum, where they stored the vacuum. Naturally we received some rich feedback being able to see the product experience first-hand, but one thing we didn’t hear in the facility and which was an aha-moment for the client was the way vacuums were stored in Japan. Respondents who had bigger homes were able to store them away in cupboards, but in general Japanese homes are small so many respondents had them tucked away under tables, behind curtains – doing their best to hide them away. Domestic makers are strong on function, but weak on design so consumers prefer them to be hidden away.
Then we visited a few respondents who owned our client’s brand – all of whom stored their vacuums in the corner of rooms in full view. But why weren’t they shoved under tables or hidden away? The design was very appealing and fit in with the overall décor of the home – so owners felt comfortable, even proud leaving them out for everybody to see, solving storage issues and allowing them to access them easily each time – which is a lot, as Japanese housewives generally vacuum everyday!
Back to the drawing board on marcomms which at the time focused primarily on the functionality of the client’s product with little on the underlying emotional benefits of owning a vacuum, with not only functionality on par with the domestic makers, but with a much more appealing design which owners could proudly store in the corner of the living room!